After stabbing, Brockton school officials look at safety

School officials say Monday’s stabbing in a Brockton High hallway raises concerns about how a student smuggled a knife into the building.

Alex Bloom

School officials say Monday’s stabbing in a Brockton High hallway raises concerns about how a student smuggled a knife into the building.

“We’re not going to put our heads in the sand,” said School Committee Vice Chairman Thomas Minichiello. “(We’ll) try to improve areas where we can realistically implement precautions that result in student safety.”

Minichiello, of Ward 1, said school officials intend to meet with high school parents in the next 30 days to talk to them about school safety concerns.

“If we have to do some sort of random-type checks or spot checks or ‘wanding,’ that’s up for discussion,” Minichiello said.

On Monday, the 16-year-old boy was in an alternative-school English class when he met two 17-year-old non-students. He stabbed one of the two other teens with what Brockton police believe is a small folding knife.

The incident happened at about 4:20 p.m. on Monday afternoon when the student stepped out of the English class to meet the two teens.
The student, officials acknowledge, did sneak the weapon into the school.

“It concerns me because obviously you had a kid sitting in a classroom — even though it was at night — who had a knife in his pocket,” said Brockton High Interim Principal Michael Thomas.

Police were still looking for the 16-year-old on Tuesday. All three teens in the incident are known to Brockton police.

The suspect attends the Edison Academy, which meets between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. It is a path for students who have aged out of high school or are under-credited to take classes toward earning a high school diploma. Started last year as a pilot, the program receives state funding and meets on the school’s second floor.

The victim, according to Brockton Police Lt. Donald Mills, was released from Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital on Monday night. He had injuries to the left side of his neck, his left shoulder and his left hip area.

Mills, who directs the city’s school police force, said the district does have metal-detecting wands at its disposal. He said the wands are used a few times a year during certain occasions.

Brockton High — the state’s largest high school, serving more than 4,000 students with 75 percent from low-income families — has been relatively free of violence.

The high school had another knife attack in April 2011, when a science teacher stopped an 18-year-old sophomore from attacking another student in the Red Building.

In December 2009, a 17-year-old former student was shot outside the school gym.

Thomas said the few incidents show students feel safe there.
“It’s the culture of the school that keeps the kids the safest,” Thomas said. “It’s kids feeling comfortable to be able to come to an adult and report something.”

Both Mills and Thomas said metal detectors could cast a negative image on the school environment for students, parents and community members.

“Whether you like it or not, it hangs a stigma around the school,” Thomas said. “It does make kids feel a different way about the school.”
Mills said metal detectors are not as effective as promoting an inclusive school culture.

“Nothing is ever going to supercede the vigilance of any employee or student to come forward,” he said.